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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. kid — to tease
  9. press — a publisher
  10. mine — for digging
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. kid — child
  17. drill — the tool
  18. press — to push
  19. pound — a weight
  20. press — newspapers
  21. drill — a practice
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ball — a great time
  24. wake — a trail

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com